1970 USC Trojans football team

American college football season

1970 USC Trojans football
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 19
AP	No. 15
Record	6–4–1 (3–4 Pac-8)
Head coach	John McKay (11th season)
Captain	Bob Chandler Charlie Weaver
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Seasons ← 1969 1971 →

1970 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 8 Stanford $	6	–	1	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
Washington	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Oregon	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	1
UCLA	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
California	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
No. 15 USC	3	–	4	–	0	6	–	4	–	1
Oregon State	3	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Washington State	0	–	7	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1970 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. In their 11th year under head coach John McKay, the Trojans compiled a 6–4–1 record (3–4 against conference opponents), finished in a tie for sixth place in the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8), and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 343 to 233.^[1] The team was ranked #15 in the final AP Poll and #19 in the final Coaches Poll.

On September 12, 1970, USC opened the season visiting the University of Alabama under coach Bear Bryant and became the first fully integrated team to play in the State of Alabama.^[2] The game, scheduled by Bryant, resulted in a 42–21 win for the Trojans. More importantly, all six touchdowns scored by USC team were by African-American players, two by USC running back Sam "Bam" Cunningham, against an all-white Crimson Tide team.^[3] The game hastened the racial integration of football at Alabama and in the American South.^[2]^[4]

Jimmy Jones led the team in passing, completing 121 of 234 passes for 1,877 yards with 10 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Clarence Davis led the team in rushing with 214 carries for 972 yards and nine touchdowns. Bob Chandler led the team in receiving with 41 catches for 590 yards and three touchdowns.^[5]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	vs. No. 16 Alabama*	No. 3	Legion Field Birmingham, AL	W 42–21	72,175	^[6]^[7]
September 19	No. 9 Nebraska*	No. 3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	T 21–21	73,768
September 26	at Iowa*	No. 7	Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA	W 48–0	56,131
October 3	Oregon State	No. 5	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 45–13	57,769
October 10	at No. 12 Stanford	No. 4	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)	L 14–24	86,000
October 17	Washington	No. 11	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 28–25	56,166
October 24	at Oregon	No. 10	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR	L 7–10	34,000
October 31	California	No. 18	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 10–13	54,750
November 7	vs. Washington State		Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA	W 70–33	14,500
November, 21	at UCLA		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)	L 20–45	78,773
November, 28	No. 4 Notre Dame*		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	W 38–28	64,694
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1970 USC Trojans football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
OT	`77`	Pete Adams	So
RB		Mike Berry
OL		Dave Brown
WR	`10`	Bob Chandler (C)	Sr
RB	`39`	Sam Cunningham	So
RB	`28`	Clarence Davis	Sr
WR		Sam Dickerson
RB	`33`	Charlie Evans	Sr
OL		Allan Graf
RB		Lou Harris
RB		Bill Holland
QB	`8`	Jim Jones	Jr
RB		Rod McNeill
OT	`78`	Marv Montgomery	Sr
WR		Mike Morgan
TE	`86`	Gerry Mullins	Sr
QB	`6`	Mike Rae	So
OL		Mike Ryan
TE		Chris Vella
OT	`75`	John Vella	Jr
OL		Wayne Yary
TE	`89`	Charle Young	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DL		Ken Carter
DB		Bruce Dyer
DB		Walt Failor
DE	`94`	John Grant	So
DL		John Grissum
DE	`83`	Willie Hall	Sr
LB		Mike Haluchak
DB		Tyrone Hudson
LB		John Papadakis
LB		Ron Preston
DL		John Skiles
LB		Greg Slough
DT	`93`	Tody Smith	Sr
DB	`46`	Skip Thomas	Jr
DB		Curt Timmons
DL	`84`	Charlie Weaver (C)	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K		Ron Ayala

Head coach

John McKay

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Game summaries

Alabama

	1	2	3	4	Total
• USC	12	10	10	10	42
Alabama	0	7	6	8	21

Date: September 12
Location: Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama

Source: [1]

Scoring summary

1	USC	Cunningham 22-yard run (kick failed)	USC 6-0

1	USC	Cunningham 4-yard run (pass failed)	USC 12-0

2	USC	Ayala 32-yard field goal	USC 15-0

2	ALA	Musso 1-yard run (Clemny kick)	USC 15-7

2	USC	Evans 7-yard run (Ayala kick)	USC 22-7

3	USC	Davis 23-yard pass from Jones (Ayala kick)	USC 29-7

3	USC	Ayala 25-yard field goal	USC 32-7

3	ALA	Bailey 6-yard pass from Hayden (kick failed)	USC 32-13

4	USC	Ayala 27-yard field goal	USC 35-13

4	USC	Holland 6-yard pass from Rae (Ayala kick)	USC 42-13

4	ALA	Musso 1-yard run (Hunter to Ceav pass)	USC 42-21

Nebraska

Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
• USC	7	27	14	0	48
Iowa	0	0	0	0	0

Date: September 26
Location: Iowa Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa
Game attendance: 56,131

Scoring summary

1	USC	Jones 1-yard run (Ayala kick)	USC 7-0

2	USC	Davis 3-yard run (Ayala kick)	USC 14-0

2	USC	Jones 8-yard run (kick failed)	USC 20-0

2	USC	Chandler 9-yard pass from Jones (Dickerson pass from Jones)	USC 28-0

2	USC	Rae 4-yard run (run failed)	USC 34-0

3	USC	Harris 1-yard run (Ayala kick)	USC 41-0

3	USC	McNeill 4-yard run (Ayala kick)	USC 48-0

^[8]

Oregon State

Jimmy Jones 15/21, 304 Yds, 3 TD, rush TD

^[9]

Notre Dame

	1	2	3	4	Total
Notre Dame	7	7	7	7	28
• USC	21	3	14	0	38

Date: November 28
Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles
Game attendance: 64,694
TV announcers (ABC): Chris Schenkel, Bud Wilkinson

Scoring summary

1	ND	Theismann 25-yard run (Hempel kick)	ND 7-0

1	USC	Davis 3-yard run (Ayala kick)	Tied 7-7

1	USC	Davis 5-yard run (kick failed)	USC 13-7

1	USC	Dickerson 45-yard pass from Jones (Jones to Chandler pass)	USC 21-7

2	ND	Cieszkowski 9-yard pass from Theismann (Hempel kick)	USC 21-14

2	USC	Ayala 19-yard field goal	USC 24-14

3	USC	Adams recovered fumble in end zone (Ayala kick)	USC 31-14

3	USC	Vella recovered fumble in end zone (Ayala kick)	USC 38-14

3	ND	Parker 46-yard pass from Theismann (Hempel kick)	USC 38-21

4	ND	Theismann 1-yard run (Hempel kick)	USC 38-28

^[10]

1970 team players in the NFL

The following players were claimed in the 1971 NFL Draft.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Marv Montgomery	Tackle	1	12	Denver Broncos
Tody Smith	Defensive tackle	1	25	Dallas Cowboys
Charles Weaver	Defensive end	2	48	Detroit Lions
Sam Dickerson	Wide receiver	3	55	San Francisco 49ers
Gerry Mullins	Tight end	4	86	Pittsburgh Steelers
Clarence Davis	Running back	4	97	Oakland Raiders
Greg Slough	Linebacker	6	149	Oakland Raiders
Herman Franklin	Wide receiver	6	152	Detroit Lions
Bob Chandler	Wide receiver	7	160	Buffalo Bills
Charles Evans	Running back	14	356	New York Giants

^[11]

References

^ "Southern California Yearly Results (1970-1974)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
^ ^a ^b Yaeger, Don; Sam Cunningham; John Papadakis (September 1, 2006). Turning of the Tide: How One Game Changed the South. Center Street. ISBN 1-931722-94-3.
^ Robbins, Lenn (August 26, 2007). "Trojans Have Horses". New York Post. Retrieved August 26, 2007.
^ Forde, Pat (August 28, 2007). "The Dash Is Off and Running". ESPN. Retrieved August 28, 2007.
^ "1970 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
^ Land, Charles (September 13, 1970). "Tough Trojans top Tide, 42–21". The Tuscaloosa News. p. 1. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
^ Thomas, Ronnie (September 13, 1970). "Tide drubbed 42–21 by USC". The Florence Times. p. 17. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
^ "Trojans Roll Past Iowa". The Register-Guard. Eugene, Oregon. September 27, 1970.
^ "Jimmy Jones quiets critics by passing USC past OSU". The Register-Guard. Eugene, Oregon. October 4, 1970.
^ "Trojans Down Irish by 38-28". The Register-Guard. Eugene. November 29, 1970.
^ "1970 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.

External links

Game program: USC vs. Washington State at Spokane – November 7, 1970

v t e USC Trojans football
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